Water at the Bottom of the Ocean
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: A vignette about Misty catching two new Water Pokémon. Nothing spectacular, quite an ordinary story.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters.

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She wasn't always a flexible young girl.

Misty Waterflower of the Cerulean City Gym was wandering around the Whirl Islands in hopes of seeing new Water Pokémon. It was one of her favorite activities outside of interacting with them and training them. So far in her journeys, she had caught Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie, Horsea, Corsola, Gyarados, Caserin, a Poliwag that evolved into Politoed, her infamous Psyduck, and an Azurill which would hopefully become a Marill someday. She also once had a Togepi that made her very happy, until it evolved into Togetic and left to take care of others of its kind. And she was always on the lookout for more, even though her older sisters always let her use the other Water Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym whenever she had to.

Because of her experience with Togepi and Azurill, Fairy-types were her second favorite Pokémon type. In spite of her legendary temper, Misty always preferred happiness to madness, and Fairy Pokémon delighted her without end. To her, unlike some other Pokémon trainers, there was no such thing as "too cute," and in this respect, her Water and Fairy Pokémon were to her what a puppy or kitten might be to a kid in another world. Her team of cute Water types was like family to her just as much as her human friends, Ash, Brock, Tracey, and others were.

But there was a better reason why Water types were so valuable to Misty. More than most other Pokémon types, Water Pokémon were flexible in battle, able to adapt to almost any situation with ease. That, and the fact that she grew up by the water and saw them her whole life, was reason enough to train these Pokémon above all others. But even she didn't always choose the cute ones. Her Gyarados was hardly cute at all, and was quite scary and formidable; however, in recent times, she had learned to overcome her fear of this big sea serpent and use it with the same effectiveness as all her other Water types.

On one of the islands, Misty noticed a Krabby waddling along the shore. It seemed to be searching for food. She thought Krabby were kind of cute, but they also reminded her that she had proudly defeated Ash's Kingler in the last Whirl Cup Competition. It filled her with a feeling of exhilaration, beating her friend who had "beaten" her several times with an unfair advantage. She waved at the Krabby and said, "Hi, Krabby!"

"Krabby!" the Krabby greeted her, snapping its pincers. It looked so funny, waddling like a penguin on the shore. In fact, speaking of penguins, Misty then noticed a Piplup waddling down the shore from another direction. Ash's friend from Sinnoh, Dawn, had one of those, so Ash said, and Misty thought she was so lucky. Although Piplup wasn't a Flying type, it was still a little bird, and Misty loved any bird that lived by the sea. And there were more to come. The Whirl Archipelago was a haven for all kinds of Water Pokémon! Seel and Dewgong slept on the rocks. Wooper and Quagsire played with each other. She even thought she caught a glimpse of a Wailmer or a Wailord surfacing briefly to breathe through its blowhole. And she caught a glimpse of a Lanturn under the surface of the water giving off its electric light.

Misty suddenly realized something. She had never had a Water/Electric type to match Ash's Pikachu before. That sounded like a good idea, in case she ever had a rematch with Ash or a match with someone else with a formidable Pokémon. She tossed out a Lure Ball in the direction of the Lanturn and shouted, "Go, Corsola!"

Out came the pink-and-white Water/Rock type Pokémon in its usual cheery mood. It landed in the sea shallows near the Lanturn.

"Tackle!" Misty ordered it. It tackled the Lanturn, knocking it off its guard and alerting it to the strangers nearby.

The Lanturn retaliated by using Water Gun in Corsola's face. Corsola took it full on and did not flinch, but was distracted for a moment. Then the Lanturn used a Spark attack. But Misty was alert for Electric attacks, and told Corsola to Dodge it. Corsola leapt straight up from the water as the Spark hit the spot where it stood before.

"Great, Corsola!" Misty complimented it. "Now, Tackle it again!"

As the Lanturn took a moment to regain its Electric strength, Corsola came down hard on it. The Lanturn, however, used Flail, knocking Corsola off course. Then it used Electro Ball, causing Corsola to get shocked, but not quite fried.

"Corsola!" Misty yelled.

The Lanturn got ready to do a Discharge on Corsola. But Misty had no intention of letting Lanturn take advantage of the moment, and she told Corsola, "Use Recover before it attacks again. Then use Headbutt!"

Corsola Recovered quickly enough, and charged the startled Lanturn, hitting it squarely on the head. The Lanturn was dazed.

"Now," said Misty, "Use Bubble Beam, then Spike Cannon!"

Corsola blinded Lanturn for a moment with its strong Bubble Beam attack, and then fired Spike Cannon at it. Lanturn was weakened to the point where it almost couldn't fight.

"Excellent!" Misty shouted with a grin. "Now, go, Lure Ball!"

She threw the blue Lure Ball at Lanturn, and it captured the Water/Electric type. The Ball did its usual light flashing on its single button for several long seconds, and then, the Pokémon stayed in the Ball.

"Yeah!" she shouted, "I got a Lanturn!" as she picked up the Ball.

"You were great, Corsola!" she said to her other Pokémon. "Take a good, long rest now!" She recalled her Corsola to its Lure Ball.

Misty then noticed that the little Krabby was looking at her with something like respect and adoration. It looked so sweet, looking at her with those big, trusting eyes.

"How'd you like to come along too, Krabby?" she asked it. "I'll even leave it up to you whether you want to battle for it or not."

The Krabby walked over to her and nuzzled her leg affectionately. Misty smiled and said, "I'll take that as a yes to the first question, and a no to the second."

She threw another Lure Ball, and it caught the crab-like Pokémon easily. Misty didn't normally think it was right to catch a Pokémon without battling it first, but this Krabby looked like it was longing for a family, and Misty was willing to offer it one.

It looked like storm clouds were starting to move in. Misty decided to call it quits for the day and get indoors. She ran for the nearest public shelter.

Misty Waterflower would always love Water-type and Fairy-type Pokémon. Fortunately, she always knew the proper way to use one in every battle, and which ones were right to use each time. If she kept this up, she would one day become the greatest Water Pokémon Master. And who wouldn't want recognition for mastering the most adaptable and flexible of them all?

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 **A/N:** I sometimes have problems ending my stories. This was one of them. I apologize if the ending was a little anti-climactic.


End file.
